37Stang Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I thought I would post up a few pics of my build. I am "mocking up" the entire car, fire it up and drive it around the block a few times then tear it back apart for paint. I plan to start DE's this spring and will have the stock seats in place for that period. I will fabricate and install the cage and race seat later in the summer to early fall. Any suggestions, advice, etc... is always welcomed. On a side note... I was attempting to put the transmission in today. The transmission will NOT seat the last ~1/4. I measured everything twice. The transmission is a SN95 specific trans but I swapped out a Fox input shaft. I measured the bearing retainer and it is .006 smaller than the hole in the bellhousing for the trans to register. The only thing I can think of is that I was using a plastic alignment tool and the disc is off just enough to cause a bind. I can tell the input shaft is in the pilot bearing from the witness mark on the input from the grease on the bearing. I read, after wrestling with it for a couple of hours, some folks say to depress the clutch or pry the clutch fork to release the disc. Anyone have any suggestions if that should not work??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dustin M. Posted December 30, 2013 Members Share Posted December 30, 2013 Isn't the Fox input shaft shorter? I've had a clutch bind me up before, but it bound me up long before I got to the 1/4" mark. If that input shaft is too short like I'm thinking, then it could be binding up albeit much later than it should be. Any reason why you went with the Fox input shaft or am I full of it here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk96gt Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 My understanding is that if you're going to use the Fox input shaft you will need to use the Fox bellhousing and clutch fork, a driveshaft spacer (Steeda sells one), and possibly a fox clutch cable. It will move the shifter forward as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nape1548534725 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Could be binding in the disc. Push the clutch in and see if that frees it up to slide the rest of the way in. I have to do that everytime I have a clutch apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Thanks guys... The Lakewood bellhousing is the "Fox" depth which is why I swapped the input shaft to a "Fox" unit. I helped a buddy years ago swap out a T5 from his Cobra kit car to a TKO. He didn't have any further use for the Lakewood T5 bellhousing so he gave it to me and it had just been sitting on the shelf. I had a couple of T5's, a SN95 unit with the longer input and a Fox T5 with a broken third gear. So I swapped the input shafts... I believe the Fox input shaft is ~5/8 shorter than the SN95 input. I should have measured them while I had them on the bench but somehow got sidetracked... I am going to work on it later this evening and will try engaging the clutch so the disc can move around while trying to stab it in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dustin M. Posted December 31, 2013 Members Share Posted December 31, 2013 I usually don't have an alignment tool and end up locating the disc by eyeball the best I can. You generally have to hump it into submission, but nothing too serious. I just lift up and down and twist the trans and eventually it pops right in there, the bolts take care of the rest. Have you tried running the bolts down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t500hps Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Get that thing together and don't worry too much about cosmetics. I'm the newest "rookie" in Mid-Atlantic CMC and looking forward to passing on the "rookie" torch. The guys you end up racing against will flat out bust your balls.......while helping you do anything to get/stay out on the track! CMC #720 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Thanks again guys... The trans is in... I cut the heads off of some 7/16 bolts to aid in alignment then put a large c-clamp on the clutch fork to take some pressure off the disc so it could slide around. A couple of wiggles and it went right in... Now I just have to come up with a solution for the crossmember. The trans mount is forward of the mounting slots due to the shorter "Fox" depth of the Lakewood bellhousing... t550hps... I am not too terribly worried about the cosmetics. But she is nasty right now. The majority of the body is green, has a white hood, red passenger side front fender and door and a white rear bumper. Sort of a "mish mash" of things... LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dustin M. Posted December 31, 2013 Members Share Posted December 31, 2013 Can you just hog out the existing holes in the cross member? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Beverly Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 When I had that trans combo in an SN95 years ago I just used a piece of metal with four holes to take up the gap, worked fine. (Bolt the plate to the mount and the other end to the trans). You may be able to use a 96-98 Mustang GT trans mount as well, I never actually tried it, but it is offset about the same amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Can you just hog out the existing holes in the cross member? I wish I could... From the looks of it the bolts from the mount to the crossmember are forward just enough for the slots to be out of alignment at their most forward range by ~1/2". I don't believe there will be enough "meat" left on the crossmember... What Tom suggested, a plate simply bolted to the crossmember then to the mount, may be a viable solution depending upon were the mount bolts actually land. I could not get the transmission into position, height wise, due to the shifter hitting the trans tunnel. It seems the SN95 automatic cars and manual cars actually had different trans tunnels as delivered from Ford. A little bit of "trimming" and it should not be problem. I have done a few 5 speed swaps into the Fox cars in the past. This is the first SN95 I have ever messed with and went into this ASSuming the Fox and SN95 cars were the same. While there are certainly many similarities there are enough differences to cause some frustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t500hps Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I discussed putting a built T5 in place of my T45 with a guy that races AI and buildds race trannies for a living.......he said waht Tom said, he'd use a plate to account for the gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dejf51548534732 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Looking forward to having you out with the CMC Mid-Atlantic folks. In 2006 I put a roll cage & racing seats in a 94 Mustang GT street car & went racing. Still had the stereo in it when I took comp school in 2007 & been upgrading piece by piece. Where are you in Virginia? We have a number of SN95's running well & we have to be able to "advise" you with the "pull every other spark plug wire" technique to getting more HP I am in central VA & can be reached at [email protected] David DeJarnette #678 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Surprisingly enough the crossmember went in with relatively little fuss... All I had to do was elongate the slots ~1/8" of an inch forward. I guess my "eyeball" measurement of ~1/2" was off a little bit... LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Looking forward to having you out with the CMC Mid-Atlantic folks. In 2006 I put a roll cage & racing seats in a 94 Mustang GT street car & went racing. Still had the stereo in it when I took comp school in 2007 & been upgrading piece by piece. Where are you in Virginia? We have a number of SN95's running well & we have to be able to "advise" you with the "pull every other spark plug wire" technique to getting more HP I am in central VA & can be reached at [email protected] David DeJarnette #678 David... I am just off of 95 about halfway between Richmond and Fredericksburg. Less than 10 minutes from the new "Dominion Raceway". When I became serious about wanting to build a car for CMC I searched all over trying to find a complete car with the intention of taking your same path. Unfortunately, all that I found were too costly or too nice to turn into a race car. I have a relative that had a completely stock '95 with a broken third gear T5. He sold the car for $1,500 two weeks before I called him... just my luck. Anyway, I found the roller and just started building the car back in July. I am really looking forward to getting out there with you all this spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al F. Posted January 4, 2014 Members Share Posted January 4, 2014 Welcome to the madness and good luck on the build. Focus on getting it driveable so you can get some track time and not on making it perfect and pretty...there's plenty of time for that later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dustin M. Posted January 4, 2014 Members Share Posted January 4, 2014 Welcome to the madness and good luck on the build. Focus on getting it driveable so you can get some track time and not on making it perfect and pretty...there's plenty of time for that later It only has to look good from 50 feet at 50mph anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t500hps Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 So where are you with this build????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sriner Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I'm in the same boat as you. I've been building a 94 mustang. Started as a V6 now close to complete cobra spec. Unfortunately budget has kept me from taking it to the track, but have been autocrossing it going onto the third season this year. Plan to make it to several track days this year though. I live out in the hampton roads area of VA.[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 So where are you with this build????? It is getting there, much slower than anticipated. My schedule has limited me to only being able to work on the car for ~6 hours on the weekends. I had "planned" on having the car ready for paint by this time so I am about 1 month behind... I finished up all of the wiring last Saturday and was ready to fire it up for the first time. I began to fill the radiator and heard coolant running out on the floor. Turned out I forgot to put the water jacket plugs back in the block. One would think putting two 1/4 NPT plugs and two 1/8 NPT plugs in the block would be a simple task... So, this Saturday I will fire it up and, fingers crossed, finish up putting the body back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 I was able to make some progress today... I got the engine fired up, set the timing and finished installing the bodywork. I just have a few little odds and ends to work out then I will start the bodywork and pull it all back apart to paint. Here are a few pics from today. Any comments, suggestions, etc... are always welcome.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37Stang Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Finally was able to get the car sprayed... It is not a "show" car by any means - I just scuffed it with 800, filled a few dents and dings - missed a few but oh, well - and shot it white. It is hard to believe the Sunday before last it was just a bare shell. The following pics were this past Sunday. I glued the glass in last night and have to finish up some trim pieces. Over the next few days I will bumpsteer it and do an alignment. I am hoping to do HPDE at VIR in October. Can anyone suggest tires for DE? I have done some research and most of it suggests just using "cheap" street tires for DE 1 and 2. Any thoughts on tires are appreciated. Upon completing DE 1 and 2 I will install the cage, racing seat, etc... Anyway, the following are some pics from this past Sunday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Very nice. I'm extremely impressed with the organization, neatness, and easy access of the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dustin M. Posted August 20, 2014 Members Share Posted August 20, 2014 Very nice. I'm extremely impressed with the organization, neatness, and easy access of the wiring. If only the guy who built my car had done the same. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 If only the guy who built my car had done the same. . . I think many of us leave a lot on the table when it comes to a well thought out and executed electrical system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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